According to records, the department of Health has issued numerous “corrections” to subsidized news media.. Canadian papersCanadian papers .As a condition of accepting federal aid, subsidized newsrooms must provide federal agencies with a “rebuttal opportunity,” according to Blacklock’s Reporter..An Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the Commons, the Cabinet stated that the Health department had issued 269 notices to the media since 2018 to “correct” stories. This number is the highest among all federal departments and agencies, with 65 notices issued in the past year alone..Data was tabled at the request of Conservative MP Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge, AB), who asked “How many requests has the government made to media companies?” Requests ranged from “clarifications” on the difference between legalization and decriminalization of narcotics to minor typographical errors..The Health department requested corrections from various media outlets, including the Canadian Press, Globe & Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator, Winnipeg Free Press, Whitehorse Daily Star, Medicine Hat News, and other smaller news publications..In 2019, the Parliament amended the Income Tax Act, introducing a 25% payroll rebate of up to $13,750 per employee for newsrooms and a 15% tax credit for digital subscriptions for “qualified Canadian journalism organizations.” .To be eligible for qualification, news media organizations must adhere to the Canada Revenue Agency Guidance on the Income Tax Measures to Support Journalism..According to the Guidance, applicants must demonstrate “a consistent practice of providing rebuttal opportunity for those being criticized,” including the Government of Canada..Delegates to a May 6 national Liberal Party convention adopted a resolution to require “the government explore options to hold online information services accountable for the veracity of material published on their platforms and to limit publication to material whose sources can be traced.” .Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan, a former CTV Canada AM host, told reporters on May 10 that cabinet would never mandate disclosure of sources. .“We would never allow that to become law,” said O’Regan..In 1938, the Supreme Court of Canada declared unconstitutional a law in Alberta from the Great Depression, which required newspapers to disclose their sources, publish official “corrections” from the province's Social Credit Board and grant the government the right to respond to critical articles. .The 1937 Accurate News and Information Act imposed fines of up to $20,000 for non-compliance..“I am always concerned about what happens if someone you don’t like or whose opinions you don’t share suddenly has the power to regulate, even at arm’s length, what is said in the press,” Sen. Paula Simons (AB), a former Edmonton Journal columnist, earlier told the Senate Human Rights committee. .“Having been a journalist, lots of people think there are factual errors in the newspaper that are just things they don’t like.”
